Political Economy Forum

News & Events


July 9, 2022

UW Political Economy Forum hosts former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best

On July 14th, 2022 the UW Political Economy Forum hosts former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best for an author meets critics event where we’ll discuss her new book, “Black in Blue: Lessons in Leadership, Breaking Barriers and Racial Reconciliation.”   The first African-American woman to hold the top policing job in Seattle, Washington, Chief Carmen Best (Ret.) served…


February 26, 2022

UW Political Science Faculty Panel – The Future of Afghanistan

Last week, Profs. and Forum Affiliates Asli Cansunar, Tony Gill, and James D. Long spoke on the UW Political Science Faculty Panel on the Future of Afghanistan.   Afghanistan remains an important US foreign policy matter despite the US military withdrawal in 2021. There is a looming economic and humanitarian crisis, a potential refugee crisis,…


June 25, 2021

Breaking up Amazon? 2021’s Worst Idea, by Victor Menaldo

The House Judiciary Committee has been working feverishly on several blockbuster bills intended to rein in Big Tech. It just approved three of the most far-reaching. The so-called Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching, or Access, Act, compels the largest digital platforms to become interoperable with each other. The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act…


June 22, 2021

Long and Menaldo Published on The Conversation: “Why nobody will ever agree on whether COVID lockdowns were worth it”

Last week Forum co-founders James Long and Victor Menaldo published a piece in The Conversation, co-authored with UW Professor of Political Science Mark A. Smith. In the piece titled “Why nobody will ever agree on whether COVID lockdowns were worth it” the authors explore facts and values regarding lockdown decisions and intensity thereof. They discuss…


The Geography of American Innovation, introducing Moretti Podcast

It’s the early 21st century. That means déjà vu all over again: the US economy remains an innovation powerhouse. Silicon Valley, the Puget Sound, Austin, and the Greater Boston Metro area all boast highly productive companies across variegated high-tech industries—and, in the process, they have created coveted jobs for well-educated people. At the same time,…


June 15, 2021

Wittstock & Martin on Innovation to Fight Climate Change

It has now become a platitude: technological innovation is the key to human prosperity. COVID-19 has demonstrated this once again: global research networks and swashbuckling pharmaceutical companies (incentivized, regulated, and nudged along by governments, of course) gave us several vaccines in record time—most of them using entirely new techniques such as mRNA technologies. What about…


June 8, 2021

Recent Tech-centric Political Economy Podcasts

The Digitization of State Repression – with Steven Feldstein In this episode, Senior Fellow Steven Feldstein of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program discusses his new book, The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance, with Forum Affiliate Morgan Wack. The conversation touches on the…


May 31, 2021

Forum Podcast – “Improving democracy through debate” with Mark Alan Smith

In this episode, Professor Mark Alan Smith of the University of Washington speaks to Forum Fellows Morgan Wack and Nicolas Wittstock about reforming democratic political institutions. Specifically, they discuss the concept of deliberative democracy – which seeks to create institutionalized opportunities for citizens to discuss and debate political issues. Improving Democracy through Debate Books and…


May 24, 2021

Forum Podcast: “Anger, Populism, and Modern Economics” with Mark Blyth

Anger, Populism, and Modern Economics   In this episode, Dr. Mark Blyth of Brown University discusses his most recent book, Angrynomics, with Forum Affiliate Morgan Wack. In just under an hour, Mark details everything from the history of capitalism and the causes of economic collapse to the rise of contemporary populism and the European Super…


May 17, 2021

Forum Podcast: “Political Economy of Cancel Culture” with Victor Menaldo

Victor Menaldo speaks to Nicolas Wittstock about a political economy approach to explaining the phenomenon of cancel culture.   Political Economy of Cancel Culture You can find our “Political Economy Forum” series on Anchor, or directly on iTunes, Spotify, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, or on Soundcloud. You can also find us by…



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